Circulation control for percolators



Sept. 1, 1936. F, R. FARMER CIRCULATION CONTROL FOR PERCOLATORS Filed May 4, 1931 INVENTOR. F r cvfirlirafimeij A TTORNEY.

Patented Sept. 1, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlQE CIRCULATION CONTROL FOR PERCOLATORS ration of California Application May 4, 1931, Serial No. 534,826

1 Claim.

This invention is a means for controlling circulation through a coffee percolator of that type adapted for initial supply and circulation of wa ter through ground coffee to produce the desired quantity of liquid coffee, and subsequent circulation of the liquid coffee through the coffee grounds to provide the desired strength.

It is an object of the invention to provide an extremely compact and simplified control adapted for convenient operative mounting in the circulating system, and more particularly to control circulation by a single valvular means adapted for neutral positioning so as to shut-off circulation, or adapted for shifting to one or the other of operative positions which respectively provide for circulating additional Water and recirculating the percolated coffee.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide conveniently accessible means for operating the valve, and to adapt its shifting for readily "controlling the pumping element of the circulating system so as to stop the pump when the valve is in neutral position and start the pump when the valve is shifted to either of its operative positions.

Further objects of the invention will be readily understood from the following description of the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a coffee percolator embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical axial section through the control mechanism.

Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Figs. 5 and 6 are detail sections on the lines 5- 5 and 6-5 respectively of Fig. 3.

The invention is particularly applicable to that type of commercial coffee urn which includes an outer water chamber I, heated by a suitable burner 2, with a receptacle 3 for liquid coifee mounted in the water chamber and supporting the usual previous container 4 for the ground coffee. A conduit 5 communicates with receptacle 3 and is provided with a usual faucet 6 for withdrawing coffee, and a conduit is adapted to spray liquid into the coffee container 4, with control mechanism providing for communication of conduit 1 with either the water chamber I via a pipe 9, or with the conduit 5 via a pipe I8.

A pump it is mounted in conduit 1, and the control mechanism includes a valve so arranged that when turned to one position pipe is closed to conduit 1 and pipe 9 is open to said conduit,

through the contain r 4 via conduit 2, so as to in- 10 crease the strength of the coffee. When the coffee is of desired strength the valve is turned to an intermediate position closing both pipe 9 and pipe 58 to the conduit i, so that the supply of coffee in receptacle 3 may be withdrawn at faucet 6 as desired; and the drive mechanism for the pump is preferably controlled by turning the valve, so as to stop the pump when the valve is in its inoperative intermediate position, and start the pump when the valve is in either of its operative positions opening pipe 9 or II] to the conduit 1.

The valve of the control mechanism is adapted for convenient assembly with relation to conduit 7 and the pipes 9 and iii, and for this purpose a housing l2 at the exterior of chamber preferably has a longitudinal bore !3 forming a valve casing i4 medially of its length, with pipe l9 communicating with one end of the bore l3 and pipe 9 projecting laterally from the valve casing l4 and opening into water chamber i and forming a supporting means for the housing. The op posite end of bore It forms an inlet to the casing of pump l I, and a peripheral outlet is provided in the pump casing and communicates with the conduit 7. The pump may be a centrifugal pump preferably driven on an electric motor H, the shaft of which is shown as forming the drive shaft for the pump, with said drive shaft journaled in a housing H? which is aflixed at its respective ends to housing l2 and to the motor l1 so as to form a support for the motor.

The valve which is mounted in casing I4 is shown as a plug valve 2! rotatable in the valve casing, and having diametrically opposite ports 2223 and a port 24 at right angles thereto, so arranged that when the valve is turned to an intermediate position as shown in Fig. 5, the valve closes both the pipe 5 and the bore l3, and when rotated in one direction alines ports 22-23 with the bore 13 so as to open pipe It to the pump H and maintain the pipe 9 closed, While rotation of the valve in the opposite direction from its neutral position alines port 23 with pipe 9 and port 24 with the end of bore I 3 which leads to pump I 8, thereby opening pipe 9 to the pump and at the same time shutting-oil the opposite end of bore It which communicates with pipe it].

The valve is preferably rotated by a lever 25 which is pivotally supported for arcuate movement across the front surface of housing l2 and for this purpose a fork 26 preferably projects laterally fromthe upper end of valve plug 2!, with an arm 2'! on lever 25 projecting into housing i2 through an arcuate slot 28, and carrying a roller 29 which seats in the fork 26 so that shifting the lever to vertical position turns valve 24 to neutral position as shown in Fig. 5, while forward shifting of the lever to the position shown in Fig. 1 opens the pipe iii to the pump ii, and rearward shifting of the lever beyond its neutral position opens the pipe 9 to the pump.

The lever 25 may be guided in its arcuate movement and reieasably held in desired position, by a usual arcuate guide it overlying the swinging lever and notched at 36 for engagement by a manually retractable keeper 32. i

An electric switch which controls the circuit for motor H is preferably actuated by turning the valve plug 2i, so that when the valve is in its neutral closed position the switch is open for stopping the motor; and when the valve is in either oiits operative positions opening the pipe i9 or the pipe d to the pump ii, the switch is closed, thereby starting the motor and operating the pump so as to force liquid through conduit E from either the coffee receptacle 3-3 via pipe iii, or from the watercchaniber i via pipe 9.

As an instance of this arrangement a switch casing 35 may be mounted on housing i2, with an axial pin 3' projecting upwardly from valve plug it into the switch casing, and a switch element carried by the pin for rotation with the valve plug and cooperation with a stationary contact element mounted in the switch casing. The rotatable switch element may comprise an insulator block 3? fixed on pin for rotation therewith, with an electrical conductor projecting laterally from the insulator block and forming three circumferentially spaced contact blades 38; and the stationary contact element may comprise an insulator block 39 spaced radially beyond blades 33 and supporting circumferentially spaced spring jaw contacts it which are provided with usual binding posts M.

The blades 38 are adapted for sliding contact between the pairs of spring jaws which form the contacts 45; and the parts are so arranged that with valve 2i turned to its neutral closed position, the contacts ll! lie between and are circumferentially spaced from next adjacent blades 38 as shown in Fig. 6, while turning the valve 25 to either of its open positions will engage the contacts 46 by one or the other of the pair of blades 38 which are respectively designated A-A and BB in Fig. 6.

As diagrammatically shown in Fig. 6, electrical energy may be supplied to motor ill by a usual cable 65 leading from a source of power, and a cable 46 forms a part of the motor circuit and leads to switch casing 35, where its wires are connected to the binding posts of the respective contacts 26, so that when blades 38 are spaced from said contacts the motor circuit is broken, and when either the blades A-A or B-B engage said contacts the motor circuit is closed.

It will thus be seen that when valve 2i is in neutral position closing both pipe 9 and pipe to to the conduit l, the motor circuit is broken so as to stop the pump M; and when the valve is turned so as to open either pipe Q or l6 to the conduit l, the motor circuit is closed so as to operate the pump.

The invention thus provides an extremely simple and compact arrangement whereby circulation may be controlled by shifting the lever 25 so as to stop the pump and close pipes i] and it and thus provide for withdrawal of coffee from receptacle 3 at the faucet 6, or the lever may be shifted so as to start the pump and open either pipe 9 or E0 to the conduit 7, thereby supplying water to the ground cofiee in container :2 as long as pipe 9 remains open, and thereafter shuttingoff the water supply and recirculating the liquid ccfiee from receptacle 3 until its percolation through container l has produced coffee of the desired strength.

I claim:

In combination, a valve casing, a rotatable plug valve in the casing, a laterally projecting fork on the plug, an extension of the casing enclosing FRANK R. FARMER. 

